Mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal having an input device that performs inputting in a tactile manner is disclosed. A touch screen of a first region and touch buttons of a second region are implemented by a single touch sheet without having ouch sensing units. Thus, manufacturing, assembling and handling can be facilitated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing dates and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2007-0114420 filed on Nov. 9, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A mobile terminal having an input device that allows various types oftactile user inputs is provided.

A mobile terminal is a device that can be carried around and has one ormore functions such as voice and video call communication, inputting andoutputting information, storing data, and the like.

As such functions become more diversified, the mobile terminal cansupport more complicated functions such as capturing images or video,reproducing music or video files, playing games, receiving broadcastsignals, and the like. By comprehensively and collectively implementingsuch functions, the mobile terminal may be embodied in the form of amultimedia player or device.

In order to implement various functions of such multimedia players ordevices, the multimedia player requires sufficient support in terms ofhardware or software, for which numerous attempts are being made andimplemented. For example, a user interface allowing users to easily andconveniently search for and select one or more functions is beingdeveloped.

Also, as users consider their mobile terminal to be a personal portabledevice that may express their personality, mobile terminals withdesirable portability and various designs are being developed. Forexample, the mobile terminal employs a touch screen to make its frontsurface appear simple and minimize degradation due to user manipulationafter prolonged use.

However, upon repeated user manipulation or when a particular functionis immediately executed only via the touch screen, the advantages ofuser input via key manipulation cannot be supported, so a configurationthat combines a touch screen and a key input scheme has been proposed.Nevertheless, the key input scheme of a push button still has somedrawbacks in that the user interface appears to be too complicated.

SUMMARY

The present inventors recognized certain drawbacks of the related art,as explained above. Upon such recognition, the following concepts andfeatures have been conceived.

A mobile terminal capable of improving an external appearance whilesupporting both the advantages of a touch screen and a key input schemeis provided herein such that a more user-friendly interface is achieved.

Such mobile terminal comprises: a terminal body having first and secondregions; and a touch sheet that senses user contact applied on the firstand second regions. The touch sheet may be integrally formed to sensetouch inputs of the first and second regions. Accordingly, a touchsensing unit with respect to the first region and another touch sensingunit for the second region are not needed, and thus, the manufacturing,assembling and handling procedures can be improved.

The touch sheet may include a touch screen pattern portion that includesmultiple conductive lines to sense user inputs (i.e., finger touching,swiping, tapping, etc.) applied to the first region, and a touch buttonpattern portion disposed to have a certain area on the second region.The touch screen pattern part may be suitable for a touch screen onwhich a position of an inputtable item or a menu is displayed at variousor different changed locations on the screen, while the touch buttonpattern part may be suitable for receiving a repeated key inputs. Also,a display module(or other components to support display functions) maybe installed at the first region and a circuit board (or other necessarycomponents) may be installed at the second region.

A window may be provided to cover the touch sheet. The window may serveto remove or reduce a complicated border lines or assembly gaps betweenthe first and second regions, thus improving the external appearance.

The touch sheet may include at least one transmissive insulation layeron which the touch screen pattern portion and the touch button patternportions are formed. The transmissive insulation layer serves as a baselayer to configure the patterned touch screen pattern portion and thetouch button pattern portion.

The touch screen pattern portion and the touch button pattern portionmay include data lines to transmit a signal. In this case, the datalines of the touch screen pattern portion may be aligned along edges ofthe transmissive insulation layer and may be congregated with the datalines of the touch button pattern portion so as to be connected with anFPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board). Because the FPCB is not connectedwith each of the first and second regions in a separate manner, butcollectively connected, the disposition of other components can be moreeasily facilitated.

A conductive shielding line for shielding the data lines of the touchscreen pattern portion may be configured at edges of the first region ofthe touch sheet. The shielding line prevents the data lines of the touchscreen pattern part from being affected by other internal components orby the surface of the mobile terminal. In this case, the shielding linemay be positioned on the opposite surface of the insulation layer onwhich the data lines of the touch screen pattern portion are disposed.The shielding line may be configured to partition the first and secondregions.

The transmissive insulation layer may be made of a flexible resinmaterial, and the touch screen pattern portion and the touch buttonpattern portion may be made of ITO on the transmissive insulation layerand formed by a sputtering process. The touch screen pattern part andthe touch button may be simultaneously printed on the transmissiveinsulation layer. Namely, they can be configured at a single time.

The touch button pattern portion may have multiple unit pattern that arespaced apart each other, and at least one through hole may be formed ata space between the touch button pattern portion. Unlike the touchscreen pattern portion that has a latticed structure formed by themultiple lines, the touch button pattern portion is configured in theform of dots with a certain area spaced apart from each other, sothrough holes may be suitably formed between the touch button patternportion.

A first push button that receives user push inputs may be mountedthrough the through hole.

The touch button pattern portion may be disposed around the first pushbutton (e.g., top, bottom, left, right etc.). Each touch button patternportion may be allocated to allow the user to move a cursor or a pointin a certain direction. The first push button can help recognize theposition of a key to be touched on the touch screen window.

The terminal body has a lower end portion that may have a round shape,and two or three second push buttons that perform inputting in the pushmanner may be disposed at the lower end portion. The second push buttonenhances usability of the touch screen pattern portion and the touchbutton pattern portion that perform inputting in a tactile mannertogether with the first push button.

The terminal body may include a first terminal body and a secondterminal body that is connected to be slidably movable with respect tothe first terminal body, and the first and second regions and the touchsheet may be formed on the first terminal body. The mobile terminal maybe applicable to different types of mobile terminal, for example, a bartype or a folder type mobile terminal. The second terminal body mayinclude a keypad for inputting numbers or characters.

An illumination unit for illuminating the first region may be providedat an upper portion of the circuit board. In this case, the illuminationunit may be formed of an EL sheet that performs surface illumination toacquire an illumination effect of the first region on which touch inputsare made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal related to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explosive perspective view of the mobile terminal in FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an exemplary touch sheet;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary configurationof the mobile terminal related to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary mobile terminal related to the present invention will nowbe described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal related to thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 1 includes afirst terminal body 10 and a second terminal body 20 that may beconfigured to be slidably moved along at least one direction withrespect to the first terminal body 10.

A state in which the first terminal body 10 is disposed to overlap withthe second terminal body 20 may be called a closed configuration, and asshown in FIG. 1, a state in which the first terminal body 10 exposes atleast a portion of the second terminal body 20 may be called an openconfiguration.

The mobile terminal 1 may usually operate in a standby mode in theclosed configuration, but this mode can be released by usermanipulation. In the open configuration, the mobile terminal may mainlyfunction in a call mode or the like, but may be changed to the standbymode according to user manipulation or after the lapse of a certaintime.

A case (housing, casing, cover, etc.) constituting the externalappearance of the first terminal body 10 comprises a front case 11 and arear case 12. Various electronic components may be installed in a spaceformed by the front case 11 and the case 12.

At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between thefront case 11 and the rear case 12. The case can be formed byinjection-molding a synthetic resin, or made of a metallic material suchas stainless steel (STS), titanium (Ti), or the like.

The lower end of the first terminal body 10 may have a round shape, andtwo or three or more push buttons 15 may be provided at a lower endportion of the front case 11 having the corresponding round shape. Thepush buttons 15 may be assigned to immediately execute a send key or endkey or a power ON/OFF operation or the like, or other particularfunctions. The push buttons 15 may be formed such that it is at the sameor similar level as an outer surface of the front case 11 when notpressed to thus provide a unified image of the mobile terminal 1.

The front surface of the first terminal body 10, excluding the lowerpush buttons 15, may be covered by a window 13. The window 13 and theinner side of the window 13 comprise a first region 40 for displayinginformation and a second region 50 for receiving tactile key inputs.Namely, the first region may output visual information according tovarious modes of the mobile terminal 1 and the second region 50 includessome keys(i.e., buttons, pressable regions, etc.), so when the keys aretouched, the second region 50 may execute a corresponding function orperform inputting.

With reference to FIG. 2, the window 13 is integrally formed. Althoughthe surface of the window 13 includes the first region 40 and the secondregion 50 each having a different function at an inner side thereof, thefirst region 40 and the second region 50 may have a unified smooth formwithout any assembly gaps or border lines. Due to its longconfiguration, such window 13 may be deformed, so it is preferably madeof a material such as tempered glass, but other suitable materials maybe used.

On or rear the window 13, there may be formed an audio output unit 14, afirst image input unit 16 and a push button 51 which is disposed at asubstantially central portion of the first region 50.

The first image input unit 16 is disposed at an inner side of the window13 so as not to deform the external appearance of the front surface ofthe first terminal body 10, and a certain area of the window 13 hastransmittance (light transmittance characteristics) to allow light topass therethrough. The first image input unit 16 may be a cameramodule(or other image capturing means) for capturing an image or video.

The first audio output unit 14 is disposed within an opening(sound hole)13 b (See FIG. 3) penetratingly formed on the window 13, and to allowvarious notification sounds or multimedia reproduction sounds, etc., aswell as a conversation voice to be output. A plurality of first audiooutput units 14 may be provided to implement a stereophonic function.

The first region 40 of the window 13 may be formed to be transmissive ortranslucent to allow a screen image outputted from the display module 41(See FIG. 3) to be viewed, and the other remaining regions excluding thefirst region 40 may be formed to be opaque.

The second region 50 of the window 3 may include marks (symbols) for therespective keys. Each mark may be printed(or etched, molded, etc.) on aninner source of the window 13 in a negative manner, whereby the marksare not clearly seen in a standby state, but when a touch input isdetected, the marks can be clearly identified by the lightening of anillumination unit 53 (See FIG. 3) disposed within the window 13. Asanother example, the marks may be configured as multiple sets wherebydifferent sets of marks can be viewed by means of the illumination unit53 according to a mode of the mobile terminal 1.

The push button 51 (or other type of pressable element) disposed at thecentral portion of the second region 50 may have a reference point(orindicator) to recognize the positions of keys arranged in a dividedmanner. Namely, the other remaining keys, excluding the push button 51,operate in a tactile manner, so it may not be easy to recognize thepositions of the keys. The push button 51 may be configured to beprotruded with a certain height to allow for an easy recognition,whereby the touch type keys arranged around the push button 51 may bemore precisely manipulated by the user.

Like the first terminal body 10, the second terminal body 20 may includea front case 21 and a rear case 22.

A keypad 23 may be configured on a front surface of the second terminalbody 20, specifically, on a front case 21, and side keys 26, an audioinput unit 24, and an external interface 27 may be configured on atleast one of the front case 21 and a rear case 22.

The touch key of the push button 51 of the second region 50, the pushbuttons 15 at the lower end portion of the first terminal body 10, andthe keypad 23 and side keys 26 of the second terminal body 20 may begenerally called as a manipulating portion. Besides the manipulatingportion, an input unit such as a wheel member, a jog dial, a joystick orthe like may be additionally implemented. From the perspective of theirfunctions, the touch key or the push buttons 15 and 51 of the firstterminal body 10 are configured to input commands such as start, end andscroll, and the keypad 23 is configured to receive user input numbers,characters, and symbols, etc. The side keys 26 may operate as aso-called hot key(or shortcut key) for performing a special functionsuch as activation of the first image input unit 16.

The audio input unit 24 may be implemented in the form of, for example,a microphone to receive user voice or other sounds.

The external interface 27 may be used as a communication link (passageor path) through which the terminal can exchange data or the like withan external device.

For example, external interface 27 may be implemented as one of aconnection port(terminal) for connecting an earphone to the mobileterminal via a fixed or wireless means, a port for short-rangecommunications (e.g., an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) port, aBluetooth™ port, a wireless LAN port, etc.), power supply ports forproviding power to the external device, or the like.

The interface unit 170 may be a card socket(or receiving unit) foraccommodating an external card, such as a Subscriber Identity Module(SIM), a User Identity Module (UIM), a memory card for storinginformation, or the like.

A battery cover 29 may be detachably installed to cover a battery thatsupplies power to the mobile terminal 1. The battery may be rechargeableso as to be continuously used, and unlike the battery in the presentembodiment, a battery may be detachably combined in the form of a pack.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal in FIG. 1. Withreference to FIG. 2, a second image input unit 25 may be additionallyconfigured on or rear a rear surface of the battery cover 29 or adjacentthereto of the second terminal body 20.

The second image input unit 25 may have an image capture direction whichis substantially the opposite to that of the first image input unit 16,and may support a different number of pixels as that of the first imageinput unit 16. For example, the first image input unit 16 may be usedfor low resolution (i.e., supporting a relatively small number ofpixels) to quickly capture an image (or video) of the user's face andimmediately transmit the same to the other party during videoconferencing or the like. Meanwhile, the second image input unit 25 maybe used for high resolution (i.e., supporting a relatively large numberof pixels) in order to capture more detailed (higher quality) images (orvideo) which typically do not need to be transmitted immediately. Aflash or a mirror may be additionally disposed to be adjacent to thesecond image input unit 25.

A portion of a sliding module 28 that slidably combines the firstterminal body 10 and the second terminal body 20 may be disposed on therear case 12 of the first terminal body 10. The other portion of theslide module 28 may be disposed on the front case 21 of the secondterminal body 20 and may not be exposed as shown in FIG. 2.

The battery cover 29 may be configured to cover the entirety of the rearsurface of the second terminal body 20, without forming assembly gaps orborder lines with other components on the rear surface of the secondbody 20.

A pattern part 30 may be configured on the rear surface of the batterycover 29 to prevent the mobile terminal 10 from being easily moved withrespect to the bottom or a sloped face and separated therefrom. Thepattern part 30 may have a geometrical regular pattern such as latticeor comb-like pattern. The pattern part 30 may be configured by coatingor injection-molding a resin material on a metal base or by some otherappropriate means.

In the above description, the second image input unit 25 and so on aredisposed on the second terminal body 20, but such configuration is notmeant to be limited. For example, one or more of the elements which aredisposed on the battery cover 29 in the above description may be mountedon the first terminal 10, mainly, on the rear case 12. In this case,those elements disposed on the rear case 12 can be protected (orcovered) by the second terminal body 20 in the closed configuration. Inaddition, even if the second image input unit 25 is not provided, thefirst image input unit 16 may be configured to rotate (or otherwise bemoved) to thus allow image capturing in the direction of the secondimage input unit 25 as well as other directions.

The mobile terminal related to the embodiment of the present inventionis not limited to the slide type mobile terminal as illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2 but may be applicable to various other structures such as a bartype, a folder, a swing type, or the like.

FIG. 3 is an explosive perspective view of the mobile terminal inFIG. 1. As illustrate in FIG. 3, the first terminal body may include thewindow 13, the front case 11, a touch sheet 60, a display module 41, anda circuit board 52.

A through hole 13 a(or opening) is formed on the second region 50 of thewindow 13 to allow the push button 51 as shown in FIG. 1 to passtherethrough, and a through hole 61 (or opening) may be formed on thesecond region second region 50 of the touch sheet 60 in a correspondingmanner.

Multiple through holes 62 (or openings) may be additionally formed on alower end portion of the touch sheet 60 to allow the push button 16 topass therethrough to operate dome switches 55(or other switch means)formed on the circuit board 52. LEDs 54 (or other illuminating means)may be mounted at one side of the dome switches 55 to illuminate thepush buttons 15.

The lower end of the touch sheet 60 may be connected to the circuitboard 52 or the first terminal body 10 by a flexible PCB or otherappropriate connector.

The push button 51 that receives user inputs in a push manner may beinstalled to pass through the through hole 61 as described above.

An illumination unit 53 may be installed near or around the push button51 to illuminate the second region 50. The illumination unit 53 may beconfigured as a light emitting element such as an electro-luminescent(EL) sheet that provides surface-illumination. The illumination unit 53may individually illuminate one or more touched keys and implementvarious illumination effects by differently controlling an illuminationtime and an illumination area. For example, when the second region 50 istouched, a bright portion may be sequentially moved in a radialdirection centering around the touched portion.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary plan view of a touch sheet. With reference toFIG. 4, the touch sheet 60 may include a touch screen pattern portion 63that senses a user touch applied to the first region 40 and a touchbutton pattern portion 65 that senses a touch applied to the secondregion 50.

The touch screen pattern portion 63 may include a plurality ofconductive lines that are formed in horizontal and vertical directionsto detect and calculate a touched position. A data line 66 may beconfigured on the edges of the touch sheet 60, which are connected withthe touch screen pattern portion 63 and used to carry electricalsignals. The touch screen pattern portion 63 may have a differentpattern, other than the pattern as shown in FIG. 4. For example, asingle conductive line may be formed in a zigzag (or matrix) pattern. Inthis case, because the touch sheet is formed of a single layer, theoverall thickness can be reduced.

Compared with the configuration of the touch screen pattern portion 63,the touch button pattern portion 65 may each be disposed with a certainarea. As shown in FIG. 4, the touch button pattern portion 65 aredisposed at four portions comprising up, down, left, and right portionsaround the through hole 61. In this case, the touch button pattern part65 may be allocated to allow the user to move the direction of a cursoror a pointer to facilitate navigation or searching with respect tomultiple items outputted by the display module 41. Each touch buttonpattern part 65 may have multiple key values.

The touch button pattern part 65 are connected by data lines 65 a,respectively, and each data line 65 a is configured to be connected witha flexible PCB 70 or other control circuits.

Accordingly, when an arbitrary one of the touch button pattern portion65 is touched, the corresponding touch button pattern portion 65 sensesthe touch. The touch button pattern portion 65 senses a change incapacitance generated by the touch applied to the window 13 andtransmits a corresponding electrical signal. Additionally, constantpressure or resistance detection methods may be implemented for thetouch button pattern portion 65.

Unlike the touch screen pattern portion 63, the touch button patternportion 65 can be spaced apart from each other and the data lines 65 aare disposed without being affected by each other, so thespaces(regions) between the touch button pattern portion 65 may be usedfor a different purpose, such as a accommodating through holes 61 orother components. Accordingly, one or more push button 51 may beinstalled on the front surface of the mobile terminal to allow the userto perform additional inputting in a tactile manner.

With reference to FIG. 4, the data lines 67 of the touch screen patternpart 63 may be arranged along the edges of the touch sheet 60, and thedata lines 67 can be connected together with the data lines 65 a of thetouch button pattern part 65 and the flexible PCB 70 such that the partsconnected with the flexible PCB 70 are located at the bottom of thetouch sheet 60(as shown). Accordingly, the flexible PCB 70 is notconnected separately to each of the first and second regions 40 and 50but are connected together at one region, thus not interfering with theconfiguration of other components and results in improved assemblyprocedure.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 isa sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the touch sheet 60 may includetransmissive insulation layers 68 and 69 where the touch screen patternportion 63 and the touch button pattern portion 65 are formed. Thetransmissive insulation layers 68 and 69 may be formed of polyethylenefilm(or other appropriate materials) and several sheets of polyethylenefilms may be stacked to form the transmissive insulation layers 68 and69.

With reference to FIG. 5, the second region 50 of the touch sheet 60 mayinclude the first transmissive insulation layer 68 with the touch buttonpattern portion 65 formed on an inner surface thereof, and the secondtransmissive insulation layer 69 formed at a lower side of the firsttransmissive insulation layer 68 and including a conductive film 70. Thefirst transmissive insulation layer 68 and the second transmissiveinsulation layer 69 may be attached by an adhesive layer 75, 76(or someother appropriate means). The conductive film 70 formed on the secondtransmissive insulation layer 69 may serve to block or minimize theinfluence of electric fields caused by internal components.

The touch button pattern portion 65 may be made of a transmissive ortranslucent material to allow light emitted from the illumination unit53 to pass therethrough. The touch screen pattern portion 63 and thetouch button pattern portion 65 may be made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)through a sputtering process.

A shielding line 67 for shielding the data line 66 of the touch screenpattern portion 63 may be formed on edges of the first transmissiveinsulation layer 68. The shielding line 67 may extend to the firstregion 40 to shield the data line 66 of the touch screen pattern portion63 (See FIGS. 4 and 5).

With reference to FIG. 4, the shielding line 67 may partition the firstregion 40 where the touch screen pattern portion 63 is formed and thesecond region 50 where the touch button pattern portion 65 are formed.Unlike the touch screen pattern portion 63 and the touch button patternportion 63, the data line 66 or the shielding line 67 of the touchscreen pattern portion 63 may be configured by printing a copper foil ora conductive metal to thus reduce fabrication costs.

Configuring the touch screen pattern portion 63 and the touch buttonpattern portion 65 together on the touch sheet 60 has the followingadvantages. Namely, if the touch sheet had only the touch screen patternand through holes were formed on the touch sheet to dispose the meanssuch as the push buttons, because the touch screen pattern has the grid(lattice) (See FIG. 4) or matrix form, many problems would arise: forexample, it would be difficult to detect a touch applied to the touchscreen pattern, and additional complicated technical considerationsshould be taken to compensate for a distorted signal to extract a propersignal. Thus, by disposing both the touch screen pattern portion 63 andthe touch button pattern part 65 on the touch sheet 60, such problemscan be minimized.

With reference to FIG. 5, the shielding line 67 may be positioned on theopposite surface of the first transmissive insulation layer 68 where thedata line 66 of the touch screen pattern portion 63 is disposed, tothereby reduce the area required by the shielding line 67 and enhancingshielding effects.

The shielding line 67 may be electrically short-circuited with ground ofthe illumination unit 53 in order to prevent or minimize the touchscreen pattern portion 63 that sense a fine touch from being affected bythe illumination unit 53 that may cause erroneous operations.

As shown in FIG. 6, the touch screen pattern portion 63 may beconfigured by combining a horizontal pattern part 63A and a verticalpattern part 63B, and may include a transmissive insulation layer 68Awith the horizontal pattern part 63A formed thereon, a transmissiveinsulation layer 68B with the vertical pattern part 63B formed thereon,and a transmissive insulation layer 68 with the conductive film 70formed thereon. Accordingly, a user touch applied to the first region 40of the window 13 may be sensed according to a change in capacitance(orother parameter, characteristics, etc.) of the horizontal pattern part63A and the vertical pattern part 63B, and an input operationcorresponding to the touched position is performed according to acombination of the corresponding positions of the horizontal patternpart 63A and the vertical pattern part 63B.

The horizontal pattern part 63A and the vertical pattern part 63B may beinterchanged in their positions. In addition, the horizontal patternpart 63A and the vertical pattern part 63B may be made of ITO (IndiumTin Oxide) through sputtering in the same manner as that of the touchbutton pattern part 65.

Referring to Figures, the features of the present invention may also besummed up as follows.

A touch sensitive member is comprised of an integrated sheet 60 having aplanar surface divided into a first section 40 and a second section 50respectively used to receive different types of user touch inputs; anarray of touch sensors 63 at the first section that senses user touchinputs using a first pattern of touch sensitive elements; and aplurality of touch activated regions 65 at the second section thatsenses user touch inputs using a second pattern of touch sensitiveelements.

The touch sensitive elements detect user touch inputs based on changesin at least one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration, andpressure. The touch sensitive member further comprises a data linestructure 66,67 formed along the edges of the integrated sheet 60 toprovide electrical connections for the touch sensors 63, and allow thetouch sensors 63 and the touch activated regions 65 to be electricallyconnected with a circuit board at an end portion of the integratedsheet. The second section comprises at least one opening 61,62 formedadjacent to the touch activated regions 65 to accommodate push buttonsthat are implemented together with the integrated sheet. The integratedsheet comprises a plurality of transmissive insulation layers 68,69,71stacked together with the touch sensors and touch activated regions65,72,73 located at certain portions therebetween. The integrated sheetfurther comprises a conductive layer 70,74 formed at a bottom of thelowermost transmissive layer that minimizes electrical fieldinterference from other electrical components located under theintegrated sheet. The transmissive insulation layers are attachedtogether using an adhesive means 75,76. The elements of the touchsensitive member may be implemented in a mobile terminal 1.

A user interface is comprised of a touch sensitive screen with a planarsurface to receive user inputs and to display information; and at leastone mechanical button implemented at a non-edge portion in the planarsurface of the touch sensitive screen, wherein the touch sensitivescreen has a first section with a first pattern of touch sensors and asecond section with a second pattern of touch sensors.

The touch sensitive screen comprises: a touch matrix at the firstsection to form the first pattern of touch sensors; and a plurality oftouch activated regions at the second section around the mechanicalbutton to form the second pattern of touch sensors. The touch matrix andthe touch activated regions detect user touch inputs according tochanges in at least one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration,and pressure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary configurationof the mobile terminal related to the present invention.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present inventionmay include a mobile communication module 81, manipulation units 15, 26,and 60, the image input units 16 and 25, the audio input unit 24, thedisplay module 41, the audio output unit 14, the external interface 27,a broadcast receiving module 86, a memory 84, a power supply unit 87, acontroller 80, and the like.

The manipulation units 15, 26, and 60 may be configured as shown inFIGS. 1 to 4 and receive commands (instructions) inputted by the user tocontrol operations of the terminal according to the controller 80.

The controller 80 typically controls the general operations of themobile terminal. For example, the controller 180 performs thecontrolling and processing associated with voice calls, datacommunications, video calls, and the like. Besides controlling suchgeneral functions, the controller may receive a touch signal transferredfrom the touch sheet 60 and execute a control command according to theinput touch signal.

The mobile communication module 81 may transmit/receive radio signalsto/from a network(e.g., mobile communication base station) via anantenna. For example, the mobile communication module 81 may include atransmitting unit 83 that handles the transmission and reception ofaudio data, text data, image data and control data, modulatestransmission signals and transmits the modulated signal, and a receivingunit 82 that demodulates received signals under the control of thecontroller 80.

The image input units 16 and 25 may be implemented as a camera module(orother type of image capture unit) that captures an image or video of theuser or other objects. When the image input units 16 and 25 are used,namely, when the image input units 16 and 25 are operating in an imagecapturing mode or a video capturing mode, the display module 41 displaysmarks(or indications) for controlling various functions of the imageinput units 16 and 25 under the control of the controller 80.

The image input units 16 and 25 may process image frames such as stillimages or video acquired by an image sensor or the like. The processedimage frames may be converted into image data that can be displayed onthe display module 41 and then outputted to the display module 41. Theimage frames processed by the image input units 16 and 25 may be storedin the memory 84 or transmitted externally through the mobilecommunication module 81 under the control of the controller 80.

The audio input unit 24 may receive external audio signals via amicrophone in a phone call mode, a recording mode or a voice recognitionmode, etc., and process the received audio signals into electrical voicedata. In the phone call mode, the processed voice data is converted intoa form that can be transmitted to the network (e.g., mobilecommunication base station) via the mobile communication module 81. Inthe recording mode, the processed voice data is outputted to be storedin the memory 84.

The audio input unit 24 may include various types of noise canceling (orsuppression) algorithms to cancel (or suppress) noise generated in thecourse of receiving and transmitting audio signals.

The display module 41 may output information processed in the mobileterminal. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the phone callmode, the display module 41 may display a User Interface (UI) or aGraphic User Interface (GUI) associated with a call or othercommunication under the control of the controller 80. When the mobileterminal 100 is in the video call mode or the image capturing mode, thedisplay module 41 may display a captured image and/or received image, aUI, a GUI, and the like, under the control of the controller 80.

The content outputted by the display module 41 may be an item or a listthat can be selected by the user via the touch screen pattern part 63 ofthe touch sheet 60.

The audio output unit 14 may convert audio data received from the mobilecommunication module 81 or stored in the memory 84 and output theconverted data in a call signal reception mode, a phone call mode, arecording mode, a voice recognition mode, and the like, under thecontrol of the controller 80. Also, the audio output module 14 mayprovide audible outputs related to a particular function (e.g., a callsignal reception sound, a message reception sound, etc.) performed bythe mobile terminal. The audio output module 152 may include a speaker,a receiver, a buzzer, or the like.

The external interface 27 may serve as an interface with at least oneexternal device connected with the mobile terminal. For example, theexternal devices may include wired/wireless headsets, external powerchargers, wired/wireless data ports, card sockets (e.g., for receiving amemory card, a Subscriber Identity Module/User Identity Module (SIM/UIM)card, etc.), audio input/output (I/O) ports, video I/O ports, earphones,microphones, and the like. The external interface 27 may be used toreceive inputs (e.g., data, information, power, etc.) from an externaldevice and transfer the received inputs to one or more elements withinthe mobile terminal, or may be used to transfer data from the mobileterminal to another external device.

The memory 84 may store programs or the like used for the processing andcontrolling performed by the controller 80, or may temporarily storeinputted/outputted data (e.g., a phonebook, messages, still images,video, etc.). The memory 84 may include at least one type of storagemedium including a hard disk type, a card-type memory (e.g., SD or XDmemory, etc), a flash memory, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), and the like.

The sensing unit 85 detects a current status (or state) of the mobileterminal such as an open/close state of the mobile terminal, a locationof the mobile terminal, presence or absence of user contact with themobile terminal, etc., and generates a sense(control) signal forcontrolling the operation of the mobile terminal. For example, when themobile terminal is a slide type mobile phone, the sensing unit 85 maysense whether the slide phone is opened or closed and output the sensingresult to the controller 80 to control the operation of the terminal. Inaddition, the sensing unit 140 can detect whether or not the powersupply unit 87 supplies power or whether or not the external interface27 is coupled with an external device.

The broadcast receiving module 86 may receive a broadcast signaltransmitted through a satellite or terrestrial means, convert the sameinto a broadcast data format that can be outputted to the display module41, and output the converted data to the controller 80. In addition, thebroadcast receiving module 86 may receive supplementary data associatedto a broadcast (e.g., Electronic Program Guide (EPG), a channel list,etc.). The broadcast data and supplementary data converted by thebroadcast receiving module 86 may be stored in the memory 84.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present inventionis advantageous in that the touch screen and the touch buttons can beimplemented as a single touch sheet.

In particular, because the touch button pattern part formed at thesecond region have a certain limited area (region), additionalcomponents (or elements) such as a through hole may be included at aportion thereof, unlike the touch screen pattern part.

Because a push-type key(or button) that can provide a click sensation tothe user may be mounted at the through hole, the usability can beenhanced.

In addition, because the front surface of the terminal body allowsinputs in a touch manner, high capacity and high density multimedia orcommunication information can be easily and quickly accessed or executedand also generation of complicated border lines can be reduced,improving the external appearance.

The embodiments of the mobile terminal as described above are not to belimited in their configurations and methods, and all or some of theembodiments may be selectively combined into various modifications.

As the exemplary embodiments may be implemented in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims. Therefore, various changes and modifications that fallwithin the scope of the claims, or equivalents of such scope aretherefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A mobile terminal comprising: a terminal body having a first and asecond region; and a touch sheet that senses a touch applied to thefirst and second regions, wherein the touch sheet comprises a touchscreen pattern portion that includes multiple conductive lines to sensea touch applied to the first region and a touch button pattern portiondisposed to have a certain area on the second region.
 2. The mobileterminal of claim 1, wherein the touch sheet is integrally formed. 3.The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein a display module that outputsvisual information and a circuit board are configured at an inner sideof the touch sheet, and the display module is disposed at the firstregion and the circuit board is disposed at the second region.
 4. Themobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a window that integrallycovers the touch sheet, the window is disposed at an outer side of thetouch sheet.
 5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the touch sheetcomprises at least one transmissive insulation layer including the touchscreen pattern part and the touch button pattern part.
 6. The mobileterminal of claim 5, wherein the touch screen pattern portion and thetouch button pattern portion respectively comprise data lines totransmit signals, and the data lines of the touch screen pattern portionare aligned along the edges of the transmissive insulation layer and arecongregated with data lines of the touch button pattern portion so as tobe connected with an FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board).
 7. Themobile terminal of claim 6, wherein a conductive shielding line forshielding the data lines of the touch screen pattern portion isconfigured at edges of the first region of the touch sheet, andpositioned on the opposite surface of the insulation layer on which thedata lines of the touch screen pattern portion are disposed.
 8. Themobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the shielding line is configured topartition the first and second regions.
 9. The mobile terminal of claim5, wherein the transmissive insulation layer is made of a flexible resinmaterial, and the touch screen pattern portion and the touch buttonpattern portion are made of ITO(Indium Tin Oxide) on the transmissiveinsulation layer through sputtering.
 10. The mobile terminal of claim 1,wherein multiple touch button pattern portion are formed.
 11. The mobileterminal of claim 10, wherein at least one through hole is formedbetween the touch button pattern portion.
 12. The mobile terminal ofclaim 11, wherein a first push button that receives user inputs in apush manner is mounted through the through hole.
 13. The mobile terminalof claim 13, wherein the unit patterns are disposed around the firstpush button and are allow the user to move a cursor or a pointer in acertain direction.
 14. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein theterminal body has a lower end portion with a round shape, and two orthree second push buttons that receive user inputs in the push mannerare disposed at the lower end portion thereof.
 15. The mobile terminalof claim 1, wherein the terminal body comprises a first terminal bodyand a second terminal body that is connected to be slidably movable withrespect to the first terminal body, and the first and second regions andthe touch sheet are formed on the first terminal body.
 16. The mobileterminal of claim 15, wherein the second terminal body comprises akeypad for inputting numbers or characters.
 17. The mobile terminal ofclaim 1, wherein an illumination unit for illuminating the first regionis provided at an upper portion of the circuit board.
 18. The mobileterminal of claim 17, wherein the illumination unit is formed of an ELsheet that performs surface illumination.
 19. A touch sensitive membercomprising: an integrated sheet having a planar surface divided into afirst section and a second section respectively used to receivedifferent types of user touch inputs; an array of touch sensors at thefirst section that senses user touch inputs using a first pattern oftouch sensitive elements; and a plurality of touch activated regions atthe second section that senses user touch inputs using a second patternof touch sensitive elements.
 20. The touch sensitive member of claim 19,wherein the touch sensitive elements detect user touch inputs based onchanges in at least one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration,and pressure.
 21. The touch sensitive member of claim 20, furthercomprising: a data line structure formed along the edges of theintegrated sheet to provide electrical connections for the touchsensors, and allow the touch sensors and the touch activated regions tobe electrically connected with a circuit board at an end portion of theintegrated sheet.
 22. The touch sensitive member of claim 21, whereinthe second section comprises: at least one opening formed adjacent tothe touch activated regions to accommodate push buttons that areimplemented together with the integrated sheet.
 23. The touch sensitivemember of claim 22, wherein the integrated sheet comprises: a pluralityof transmissive insulation layers stacked together with the touchsensors and touch activated regions located at certain portionstherebetween.
 24. The touch sensitive member of claim 23, wherein theintegrated sheet further comprises: a conductive layer formed at abottom of the lowermost transmissive layer that minimizes electricalfield interference from other electrical components located under theintegrated sheet.
 25. The touch sensitive member of claim 24, whereinthe transmissive insulation layers are attached together using anadhesive means.
 26. The touch sensitive member of claim 25, wherein theelements are implemented in a mobile terminal.
 27. A user interfacecomprising: a touch sensitive screen with a planar surface to receiveuser inputs and to display information; and at least one mechanicalbutton implemented at a non-edge portion in the planar surface of thetouch sensitive screen, wherein the touch sensitive screen has a firstsection with a first pattern of touch sensors and a second section witha second pattern of touch sensors.
 28. The user interface of claim 27,wherein the touch sensitive screen comprises: a touch matrix at thefirst section to form the first pattern of touch sensors; and aplurality of touch activated regions at the second section around themechanical button to form the second pattern of touch sensors.
 29. Theuser interface of claim 28, wherein the touch matrix and the touchactivated regions detect user touch inputs according to changes in atleast one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration, and pressure.